July+19

Wednesday’s contest between the Good Eggs and the Bad Eggs was hard fought, but the Good Eggs prevailed in the sweltering July heat.
 * It’s Not Just a Game: Writers on the Diamond**

The pre-game festivities were solemn but dignified with Prokofiev’s __Peter and the Wolf__ playing over the stadium’s PA.

Good Egg Shea pitched a strong first inning, the curve balls logging arcs over the plate like rhymes over a poetry slam.

In the second, Teralyn came to bat with some unfinished business against the Bad Egg pitchers from yesterday’s game. Bad Egg pitcher Johnny Technology mixed in some changeups with the fastballs, but Teralyn delivered a solid performance as she hit all doubles. See page 4 for a “Photo Story” of her outstanding hits.

The third inning had the Good Eggs searching for their rhythm—some hits, some outs. But the resounding strains of “Pump it Up!” ringing over the stadium’s sound system and Julie’s unquestionable leadership helped the Good Eggs take heart. They made it a true team effort.

For all of the fourth, the Good Eggs hit whatever the Bad Eggs could throw at them. It almost seemed as if the Good Eggs were turning the Bad Eggs over to their side with their meticulous attention to the detail and solid fundamentals. Julie, Melanie, Judy, Shelley, Kris, and Steve scored 6 easy runs, and it looked unlikely that Bad Eggs could return the Good Eggs’ onslaught.

The Bad Eggs tried to stage a comeback in the fifth when Jeff returned papers and issued a challenge to the Good Egg hitters. His slider kept hitting the corners and forced the Good Eggs to completely change their batting stance. The Good Eggs are still wondering what hit them.

But in the sixth, Holly came to bat for the Good Eggs and hit Jeff out of the park with her solid extension over the plate. She hit that ball into Tuesday of next week.

The seventh brought Melanie to the mound for the Good Eggs. Her combination of changeups and heat kept the Bad Eggs guessing. She brought her own brand of pitching magic and family tradition to the mound, throwing a changeup like a “morning poem.” The Bad Eggs never found their rhythm against her as she took pages from the book of Spangler and McDonald and pounded them mercilessly with unhittable zingers. She told the Good Eggs, “Don’t Stop Laughing Now,” and they didn’t.

The seventh inning stretch took us out to lunch.

And Holly started the eighth with her authentic pitching—no junkballing here. For more on the style Holly represents, see “Standards Without Sacrifice: The Case for Authentic [Pitching]” by Lori A. Kixmiller. Holly doesn’t just talk a good game. She lives it and always has from her farm club days in Buhler. Gerri, Mary, and Teralyn all flashed leather and provided outstanding defense as well for Holly’s style.

The ninth inning was long in the heat, but the Good Eggs kept plugging away at the Bad Eggs and ended up victorious. But the real winners are the fans, folks. It’s not the score that matters. It’s the love of the game.